Paper bag closure



July 30, 1935. 'Q w PQPPE PAPER BAG cLosURE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Deo. 4,' 1953 y mvEN'roR 650,965 h(- @PPE ATTORNEY July-3o, 1935;

G. w. PQPPE PAPER BAG CLOSURE yFiled Dec. 4, 1933 zsneets-sheet 2 INVEN-roR 6in/Paf la( PoP/2f yh ATTORNEY Patented Julyl so, 1935 PAPER BAG CLOSURE George W. Poppe, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignor to Equitable Paper Bag Co., Inc., Brooklyn, N. Y., a corporation o! New York Application December 4, 1933, Serial No. '100,766

3 Claims.

This invention relates to a closure device for paper bags and an object of the invention is to provide a closure which can quickly be made effective and which effectively retains the walls of the bag in locking engagement and lies fiat thereagainst.

Another object is to provide a closure device for a bag, said bag having front and back walls and a closing fiap in which the front and back walls are locked together and in which the front wall is locked to the flap or in which both walls are locked to the flap.

A further object is to provide a closure device for bags in which locking of the ap to one or both bag walls is effective whether the flap is folded on the inside or the outside of the bag walls.

A further object is to provide an eective bag closure which may be made with ease and at a low cost.

An important feature oi' the invention relates to a closure for paper bags including locking tongues and slits through which the tongues pass, the slits or tongues being formed in either the fiap or in one or both walls of the bag, or in one or the other of the bag walls.

Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and claims taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:-

Figures 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11 show different ways in which the locking tongues and slits may be arranged;

Figures 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 are horizontal sections through the bag walls and closure device;

Figures 13 and 14 show forms wherein the bag walls only are provided with the closure device elements;

Figure 15 is a form similar to that sho'wn in Figure 13 but with a carry aperture in the closing ap;

Figure 16 is a horizontal section of the bag shown in Figure 15;

Figure 17 is a modified form; and

Figures 18 and 19 are central vertical sections near the upper portion of the bag showing different ways of folding the tongues.

The bag to which my invention is applied may be whatfis known as a at bag or a bellows bag and includes a front Wall I, a rear Wall 2 and a closing flap 3, the latter adapted to be folded along the dotted line a-b to close the bag mouth. The two walls and flap constitute the three elements of the bag with which my invention is concerned. Only the upper portion of the bag is shown in the several figures but it is to be understood, of course,

that the bottom oi the bag is closed in the manner.

The closure device consists of two elements, one of which comprises a pair of tongues and the other element of which comprises an` opening or openings through which the tongues may be passed. In the construction shown in Figure 1 a. pair of tongues I and 5 are formed in the flap. A similar pair of tongues 6 and 'l are formed in the front wall of the bag. The base of each tongue is in- 10 dicated by the dotted line c-d. The other element of the closure device, in the Figure 1 construction, consists of a pair of slits 8 and 9 formed in the rear wall of the bag. These slits are spaced apart a distance substantially equal to the dis- 15 tance between the bases c-d of the tongues and @coincide with said bases.

When the flap 3 is folded down over the wall I the tongues l and 5 coincide with the tongues 6 and l respectively so that in such folded position 20 the tongues 4 and ,6 may be pushed through the slit and the tongues 5 and 1 pushed through the slit 9 so as to lie flat adjacent the back of the rear wall 2, as shown in Figure 2. The flap is thus locked to both bag walls and the walls are locked 25 together as shown in Figure 2.

In the Figure 1 construction the flap 3 may also be folded inside the bag and when so folded the tongues 4 and 5 coincide as before with the tongues B and l but in this case the tongues 4 and 30 5 are on the inside instead of on the outside. Both pairs of tongues may in a similar manner be passed through thefslots 8 and 9 in the rear wall of the bag, thus locking together both bag walls and locking both walls to the flap.

In the Figure 3 construction which is a reverse of that shown in Figure 1, the slits 8 and 9 are made in the ap and in the front wall of the bag and the tongues are formed in the rear wall thereof. In this form the flap 3 when folded outside 40 of the front wall will bring the slits of the flap into coincidence with the slits in the front wall with the bases of the tongues in the rear wall likewise in coincidence with the two series of slits. The tongues 8 and`1 may then be pushed forward 45 through the aligned slits thereby locking the flap in close contact with the bag walls. Figure 4 shows the parts thus locked.

In this form the flap 3 may be likewise folded on the inside of the bag and the tongues in the 50 rear wall pushed through the aligned slits so as to lie flat on the front wall of the bag.

In the form shown in Figure 5 the slits 8 and 9 are formed in the ap 3 an'd the tongues are formed in both the rear and front walls. When 55 usual the ilap 3 is folded down over the front wall the tongues may be passed through the slits and will lie fiat on the outside of the flap and both walls will be locked to the flap by the. tongues in the front and rear walls as shown in Figure 6.

In this construction when the flap is folded inside the bag the tongues on the front wall may be pushed through the slits in the ap and into contact with the tongues on the rear wall. The locking in this case however, is between the ap and front wall but the two walls are not locked together. l

VIn the construction shown in Figure 'I which is the reverse of that shown in Figure 5 the tongues are formed in the flap 3 while the slits are formed in both the front and rear bag walls. When the flap is folded down over the front wall the tongues are pushed through the slits in both thefront and rear bag Walls and lock the flap in contact with both bag walls, said tongues lying flat against the rear bag Wall. Both walls are locked to the flap. Figure 8 illustrates this condition.

With this type of construction the flap may likewise be folded inside the bag walls and the tongues pushed through the slits in either the front or the back walls.

In the construction shown. in Figure 9 the tongues are formedA in the closing flap 3 and in the back wall of the bag and the slits I and 9 are formed in the front wall of the bag. With this construction the flap 3 may be folded down over the front bag wall and the tongues l and 5 pushed through the slits which will lock the flap to the front wall but will not lock it to the back wall.

When the flap 3 is folded inside the bag, in the Figure 9 construction, both sets of tongues may be pushed from the rear through the slits in the front bag wall and not only is the flap locked to the front bag wall but the two walls arelocked together as clearly shown in Figure 10.

1n the construction shown in Figure il, which is the reverse of that shown in. Figure 9 the slits are formed in the flap 3 and in the rear bag wall while the pair of tongues is formed in the front bag wall. With the flap folded outside the bag the flap is locked to the front wall only. When, however, the ap 3 is folded on the inside of the bag as shown in Figure 12, the tongues 3 and 1 may be pushed through both pairs of slits in which case the flap is locked to both walls of the bag and the two walls are locked together.

In Figure 13 the flap 3 does not' contain any element of the closure device but the front wall and the back wall are provided' with the two elements thereof and the two walls are locked together by pushing the tongues in one wall through the slits in the other wall. Figure 14 is merely the reverse of Figure 13. In both of these constructions the two walls of the bag are locked together and the flap may be folded down or not, according to choice. This form of bag offers a very quick method of closing the bag mouth without having to fold the flap.

Figure 15 is similar to the Figure 13 construction except that the flap 3 is provided with a carry aperture III. 'I'he two walls of the bag are locked together by the tongues being passed through the slits, the flap remaining in its upright position as shown in Figure 15. In this together by the tongues.

construction, however, the aperture Il is so positioned that when thev flap is folded inside the bag it is in alignment with the tongues I and 5 and said tongues may be then passed through the aperture and through the slits 8 and 3, thereby lockingthe ap and back walls together.v Figure 16 shows the relation of the parts under the condition just described.

Figure 1'7 shows a somewhat modified form in which the irontv and back walls of the bag are provided with aligned tongues II and I2 and the flap is provided with an aperture I3 which, when the ap is folded, is in alignment with the tongues II and I2. When the flap is folded outside thebag and the two tongues passed through the opening I3, the two walls and flap are held The size of the tongues is sufficient to allow a finger to be passed through,

therebyserving as a means for carrying the bag. This manner of folding is illustrated in Figure 18.

Figure 19 illustrates a construction in which the flap 3 is folded inside the bag in which case the tongues may be passed through the opening I3 from either side. Figure 19 shows the flaps passed through the opening from the forward side towards the rear. It will be seen that whether the tongues are folded with the ilap on the inside or n the outside they constitute a 'reenforcement in carrying the bag.

'Ihe bag illustrated in the various figures of the drawings is made according to well-known methods consisting in first folding a web of paper over a former'and pasting it together to form a bag tube and then chopping oif individual bag lengths in a manner well-known to the prior art.

The folded-over web forms a seam, indicated at Il in the several figures, and I prefer to locate this seam sufiiciently beyond the center of the bag walls to enable the elements of the closure device to be entirely outside of the seam. The tongues and slits may thus be formed in thev web prior to folding the same into a tube.

What I claim is:-

l. A closure device for a bag, said bag having three elements, namely a closing flap, a front wall and a back wall, said closure device comprising two elements, namely two parallel spaced slits and oppositely facing tongues, one of said walls having one of said closure elements formed therein and the other bag wall having the other of said closure elements formed therein.

2. A bag having front andback walls and a closing flap, one of said walls having two tongues formed therein and spaced apart, said other bag wall having two parallel slits spaced apart a distance substantially equal to the distance between the bases of the tongues and aligning therewith.

3. A bag having front and back walls and a closing flap, said flap having two parallel slits therein, a similar pair of slits in one of said bag walls, two spaced-apart tongues formed in the other bag wall, the base of the tongues being a distance apart substantially equal to that of the distance separating the slits, the slits in one wall coinciding with the bases of the tongues in the other wall and the slits in the flap coinciding with the bases of the tongues when the flap is folded.

GEORGE W. POPPE. 

